Pearson's start: 'He's not locating his pitches'

Nate Pearson's fourth Major League start mirrored the Blue Jays’ effort as a whole on Tuesday in Baltimore, with a mix of brilliance and blunders that ended up being just enough in a 10th-inning win.

None of Pearson’s starts have been like the others, as the Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect opened with a great outing back on July 29 in Washington, but he’s since struggled with his control and pitch mixes to different degrees. The towering right-hander lasted five innings in an 8-7 win over the Orioles, but he allowed five runs, including three walks and three home runs.

• Box score

“He’s got the stuff to pitch in the big leagues, we all know that, but he’s pitching behind,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He’s not locating his pitches, so that’s been the trouble. We know that whenever he gets that location back, he’ll be fine. His last few outings have been the same, more or less, not being able to locate his pitches.”

Pearson’s game plans have clearly varied, too, and Tuesday’s saw him scale back the usage of his elite fastball, which topped out at 98.9 mph but has climbed comfortably beyond 100 mph in the past. Pearson leaned on his four-seamer 53% of the time in his first three starts, but he went to it just 42% of the time on Tuesday, according to Statcast. He instead opted for more sliders and curveballs.

After dominating the Minor Leagues, the learning curve that comes with the Majors has been evident.

Some of Pearson’s pitch mixes have simply been part of the game plan but, this time around, the Blue Jays want him to go back to his bread and butter. With a fastball like that, it’s OK for Pearson to trust that his best is better than the hitter’s best.

"He wasn't as aggressive as we'd like him to be,” Montoyo said. “That's why you saw that many breaking pitches. That's one thing we talked to him about, to be more aggressive with his fastball."

One welcome change for Pearson came in the fifth, when he finally took the mound with a lead for the first time after some non-existent run support earlier this season. The game eventually slowed down and the runs piled up, but Pearson owes that first lead to the red-hot Randal Grichuk, who first pulled the Blue Jays even at 2-2 with a two-run homer.

When the Blue Jays opened their last series against the Rays on Aug. 14, Grichuk hadn’t even recorded an extra-base hit in 2020, let alone a home run. Just five days later, he’s gone deep four times while extending his hitting streak to seven games.

After the Orioles jumped ahead, it was Grichuk’s turn, again, to grab it right back. With the bases loaded in the fifth, Grichuk stayed on a fastball out over the plate and drove it off the wall in right field for a two-run double. Grichuk has been focused on lifting the ball with power more often in 2020, and this recent surge could be coming at a better time with the recent injury to star shortstop Bo Bichette.

The Blue Jays’ bats didn’t exactly put on a fireworks show in extras, but they got the job done. After a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walk and Danny Jansen delivered a great bunt, Travis Shaw scored the go-ahead run on a grounder to first base with a throwing error home from Chris Davis. Shaw also crushed a three-run homer in the fifth as part of a 2-for-5 night.

Anthony Bass, after pitching the ninth, came back out for the 10th to shut the door.